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Acoustic Research AR-2A Rebuild

audiophile03 said:
Shacky, I'm not sure what cap you are talking about.
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Never mind. I see with closer look that it's just a piece of wood filler under the bracket holding those caps in place. I thought it looked like one of the yellow wax type caps seen in other AR's.
 
Finally got the second cab stripped. Once I got the
paint off, I was able to see that this cab was going to
require a bit more sanding work because of some
nicks and gouges in the wood. I'll probably have to use
a belt sander to get them out. Pics coming soon.
 
Finally sucked it up and finished the last cabinet. All I have left to do is order the new grills off eBay then they will be 100% done. Got them hooked up to my old Technics receiver and they sound fantastic! After doing all the woodwork on these, I think I found a new hobby!
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audiophile03 said:
Finally sucked it up and finished the last cabinet. All I have left to do is order the new grills off eBay then they will be 100% done. Got them hooked up to my old Technics receiver and they sound fantastic! After doing all the woodwork on these, I think I found a new hobby!
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If ever there was a pair of speakers that need their grills... :D

I actually built replacements for mine, out of 1/8" masonite, but a lot easier to just get the ones from eBay.

There is a lot of satisfaction in getting these back to "like new" condition, isn't there? :smoke:
 
Yes, yes there is! I think I may just buy the grills with logos but without the cloth. The ones offered on eBay only come in off white but I think a black cloth grill may look better.
 
Beautiful work audiophile!

I'm just a little surprised, let me tell you why. Don't take this the wrong way but those old girls need grills! I run my AR7's without any grills, and they just look a little utilitarian. Those things need them though.

Say, how do they sound? That's the important part after all. :D
 
I am planning on putting on grills but I am going to have to install my own cloth on the grill frames as soon as I get from eBay. I agree, even though they do look pretty presentable without grills, they would look a bit better with them. I just got my Sansui QRX-4500 and MXR EQ in the mail today. After hooking them up to my cassette deck and popping in The Great Performances of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the sound was astonishingly large and well rounded with clear high's and surprising lows. I must say that I am quite pleased with the large, beautiful sound these speakers produce!
 
audiophile03 said:
Yes, yes there is! I think I may just buy the grills with logos but without the cloth. The ones offered on eBay only come in off white but I think a black cloth grill may look better.
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Incredible job!

Black colth would look OK if you're after a "custom" look but my preference would be a vintage type fabric. It comes in many different weaves and shades.

John
 
That's a pretty great looking project. I just picked some older Jazz magazines. Here's an AR add from the January 1963 issue.
 

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Very nice looking speakers John. I am wanting a vintage looking fabric also but I just dont think off white would match very well. Love the ad Tom!
 
audiophile03 said:
Very nice looking speakers John. I am wanting a vintage looking fabric also but I just dont think off white would match very well. Love the ad Tom!
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I think some ivory colored grill cloth would look awesome on your restored cabs. Not tan or beige, but just slightly off white.

Here's an example.

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michiganpat said:
I'd get some 1/8" or 1/4" masonite or luan and cut my own frames, then go to the local fabric store and ... look in the cross-stitch isle at some of the cross-stitch backing linens, they come in different colors/shades
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Yep. 1/8" masonite from HD, cross-stitch linen from JoAnne's Fabrics:

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audiophile03 said:
popping in The Great Performances of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the sound was astonishingly large and well rounded with clear high's and surprising lows. I must say that I am quite pleased with the large, beautiful sound these speakers produce!
Click to expand...

These AR speakers are really built to reproduce orchestral sound I say :tresbon:
 
I will have to agree with you David. I have played a few other types of music and to my ear, classical music seemed to really shine with these.
 
Finally got my AR's covered today. I cut the frames and my lady cut and mounted the cloth to the frames. The fabric I used was an 18ct Lambswool that is colored a slight off white with bits of slightly darker stitching to give it a hand stitched look all for around $5.50 on sale from JoAnne's. I bought a large sheet of fiberboard from Home Depot for $7.00. So, all in all, I spent around $12.50 or so to make some very good looking grills. Also got the plates ordered tonight for $16.00 off eBay. Next week, they should be 100% done!
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